And it happened!! After so many safaris and visiting different national parks over the years to see this beauty, we got the opportunity to witness this graceful majestic most beautiful animal of the jungle!! TIGER!!
We decided to visit Tadoba on a short notice, in peak summer season which landed us in not getting core zone booking and decided to go ahead with a buffer zone safari. We did a total of three safaris and sighted four tigers, mother Junabai tigress and her two cubs at different locations.
Junabai: our driver came across fresh pug marks and decided to chase after them on a narrow path when all the other vehicles were heading in a different direction, and there she was- gracefully walking the road, marking her territory. She glanced at us when our Jeep approached near, stared for a few seconds and walked away gracefully to the deeper parts of the jungle. A short meet indeed!!
Female cub: we had been waiting since 2:30 in the afternoon for tiger sightings in the open Jeep under the scorching heat at the peak of Nagpur summers. They usually come near the water bodies in the afternoons to cool down. After searching through all the water bodies in the zone for more than 3 hours, we decided to go back and told our driver the same. Our driver said that we could have a sighting even in the last 5 mins before gates closed. And at that very moment the most beautiful tigress cub came out walking to the water body with the elegance of a dancer. We followed her quietly till she came out and walked to her lair.
Male cub: as we finished following the female cub, another Jeep driver told us about a male cub resting near another water body on the far end of the zone. And that’s when the insane chase began. We had the last sighting for the day waltzing around the water body with the big red sun setting in the background! The cherry on top was when he came out to cross the road just in front of our Jeep, that’s when this photo was clicked. Unfortunately our only photo as Tadoba doesn’t allow phone use for photo purpose.
Last tiger: this was our last safari the next morning and we were already content with our previous day’s sightings. But Tadoba had decided to fulfill our quench of tiger sightings of all these years. So here we were, waiting near one narrow trail with two more jeeps in front and behind us listening quietly to some callings from the jungle. And we heard the roar of a tiger from the dense bushes nearby, behind which a narrow stream of water flowed. After a long wait, that’s when he came out to cross our trail and pass on to the denser jungle beyond us. Little did we know that we were right in his path of crossing and that seemed to make this wild cat upset. He walked up to our open Jeep and gave one big roar. Time was frozen with pin drop silence fell. He stared at us for a few seconds, which felt like an eternity and walked away to another jeep in front of us and roared again. If someone would have taken our ECG at that time, it might have shown a totally bizarre reading of arrhythmia, even a momentary flatline!
I have always heard people talking about how tigers are the most beautiful animals and how people spend days and weeks in the wait to capture the perfect moment, but witnessing it was another level of amazement!!
To try and describe the beauty of the Kashmir valley is difficult- great writers have written odes to fill books but have felt they couldn’t do it justice. How does one surmise the overwhelming abundance? Mammoth mountains framed by lush rolling valleys, forests sprawling from edges of orchards, fields of saffron, the tinkling of streams and gush of rivers, the perfumed gardens, the lakes that reflect the endless skies- it is an assault on all senses.
My parents and I planned a week of tourism by road followed by a 6 day trek to the Tarsar Marsar lakes from a small village (that looked straight out of a movie) called Aru near Pahalgam (Bajrangi bhaijaan posters on every tea and bhajiya shack!).
The first day of the trek was a gift in itself- traversing a pine forest that immediately cleared to the beautiful meadows of Lidderwat, trailing the river Lidder by our side. I will let the pictures do the talking.
A group of 20 strangers- from different cities, age groups and professions, quickly became friends to the common goal of ‘appreciation’. Of the gift that were these few days in the lap of nature, the gift of bright mornings, tiring trekking, the comfort of hot food, windy evenings that forced us into tents with card games, and naps under the open sky.
The trek put a lot of things into perspective. It let us acknowledge the magnanimous while appreciating the small things. And that steep climb in front of you- always, always makes you scared. Once you start, your breath catches and your palms sweat- was this a good idea? Am I sure? But a good guide and smiling company- becomes a pattern of one foot in front of the other, eyes wide open to the ever changing view.
In the month of January- a few weeks back, we received a phone call from the receptionist at one of the hotels we stayed at. He had a strange request, something we couldn’t understand over the phone’s rumbling. His son’s 10th standard board result was out and he wanted us to check it online of the official J&K Board of Secondary Education Portal. The internet connection services were still disrupted and everyone in the house was very anxious- mathematics had been a tad difficult. Aatif and his father trailed back to the hotel reception contacts ledger, saw our names and remembered we came from Mumbai- a conversation we had over an early breakfast.
We checked the results on the website – and good news! Aatif had an above average CGPA and math was cleared by a safe margin. The only thing that came to my mind was how similar Aatif’s father sounded to my mother when we were waiting at our computer screen for my board result. The same nervous tone, the inescapable sighs and the yelling of my name at regular intervals.
It is always easy to highlight differences to establish one’s identity as separate from others. Many people, for their own means, will continue to reinforce the differences, will keep convincing us there is an ‘us’, and there is a them. But moments like these remind you just how much is common among every man, woman and child on this planet.
Glint 2020 